Hods Hill (569m) and Cairn Hill (451m) 7th November 2009

Looking up to Hods Hill

Hods Hill (569m)

The car was parked at a lay-by area on the road to the Daer Reservoir, near where the road turns sharp right, at NS972097. It was cloudy, with spits and spots of rain in the air, the hills were mist bound and there was a chilly wind, as Mark and I set off at 12.10 pm. We followed the Southern Upland Way, which climbed gently at first before becoming steeper higher up. Nowhere was it steep, however, but as we gained height there was a feeling of space looking over to the main Lowther Hills and the headwaters of Clydesdale. Although lower down the going was a bit rough, higher up there was a clear path by the side of a wall and fence. Here the weather cleared up a bit, the sun came out for a while and it was quite pleasant. There were views over the Daer Reservoir and across to the Lowthers but the higher hills remained in cloud. We had a view of our hill clear of mist but by the time we were that high the cloud had closed in again. The summit is just off the Southern Upland way, over a gate, and is unmarked. We had a quick lunch here, in the cloud and wind, before retracing our steps down the hill. We came out of the mist and decided to take the former line of the Southern Upland Way rather than the current route via which we had ascended. Our descent route went straight down the hill by a wall, towards the dam of the Daer Reservoir, where it met a track. This track led to the road and so to the car, which we reached after 2 hours 35 minutes of walking.

Looking across to the Lowthers

 

Descending Hods Hill

Cairn Hill (451m)

We drove round to the other side of the Lowthers and parked at a parking area on the road to Coshogle Farm, at the track to the Kirkbride Churchyard. We started walking up this track at 3.25 pm, passed the remains of the church and its cemetery, and into the trees of Kirkbridehill Plantation. A well travelled firebreak led through the trees, although some of the branches were overgrown and needed a bit of effort to push through. At the edge of the plantation there was a gate and over this lay the open hillside. The ground wasn’t too rough or steep and it was an easy climbed in the gathering dusk. The slope steepened just before the top, where there was, not surprisingly, a cairn. There was a good view of the Lowthers, particularly of Green Hill, East Mount Lowther and Steygail, but they were mostly in cloud. We didn’t stay long on the summit as it was getting dark and we followed the same route down. We reached the car at 4.50 pm and started the long drive home soon after.

The summit of Cairn Hill

 

The Lowther Hills from Cairn Hill

 

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